Water Resources

Get into the flow

Our Water Resources concentration emphasizes the science behind water quality and quantity to help you hone your problem-solving skills. You’ll take courses that focus on the biological, chemical, and physical aspects of water in the environment and include the study of wetlands, stream ecology, groundwater flow, bioremediation, and the management of wildlife, fisheries, lakes, and watersheds.

You’ll develop skills in a wide range of environmental areas, including water quality treatment, pollution prevention, watershed assessment, water resource management, storm water management, permitting, risk assessment, wetland reclamation, and wastewater treatment. You will gain a complete set of tools applicable to careers with federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as nongovernmental agencies, private-sector environmental consultants, and industry-based departments of environmental management.

A broad base, plus depth and detail

You’ll begin by mastering the fundamentals reflected in the MSES program’s core competencies—15 credit hours encompassing the rigor and breadth that employers seek. The concentration also features 18 credit hours of specialized advanced courses.

Personalize your program

The remainder of the course work comes in 12 credit hours of electives, which will allow you to tailor your program to your own specific interests. A few of the elective options are listed below:

Wetlands: Biology and Regulation (E 440)

Limnology (E 455)

Fisheries and Wildlife Management (E 460)

Fisheries and Wildlife Management Laboratory (E 461)

Environmental Toxicology (E 520)

Habitat Analysis–Aquatic (E 523)

Forest Ecology and Management (E 528)

Restoration Ecology (E 534)

Environmental Chemistry Laboratory (E 537)

Aquatic Chemistry (E 539)

Subsurface Microbiology and Bioremediation (E 544)

Lake and Watershed Management (E 545)

Stream Ecology (E 546)

Groundwater Flow Modeling (E 554)

Watershed Hydrology (E 555)

Conservation Biology (E 557)

Surface Water Hydrology (GEOL-G 550)

Advanced Hydrology (GEOL-G 551)

Water Law (LAW-B 768)

After consulting with a faculty advisor, you also may enroll in elective courses offered by other IU departments, including geology and geography.

With or without the thesis

If you pursue the thesis option, you’ll take Research in Environmental Science (E625) as one of your electives. If you pursue the non-thesis option, you will most likely complete an internship during the summer after your first year in the program. Your coursework culminates in a project-oriented course—a capstone—that integrates and allows you to apply the knowledge you gained throughout the program.

Dual concentrations

Combining your Water Resources concentration with another MSES concentration—such as Applied Ecology—may offer you unique advantages in pursuing a particular career in environmental science. As they help you design your program, our faculty will work to accommodate your specialized professional interests.